Global Voices Online

Joe's Trippin' posts an extended entry complete with photographs and video of this week's Day of Ashura [See here for earlier coverage] in Baku, the capital of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Although the blog says that the Koran and most Moslem governments ban self-mutilation, a few dozen faithful flagellated or cut themselves instead of donating blood. The blog concludes that the traditional way of observing Ashura was more interesting.

Recent Links also in Central Asia & Caucasus

Musafirbek says that the president of Uzbekistan officially thanked the cotton-growers for gathering the harvest of this strategic product for Uzbekistan. However, those who sweat away, collecting this cotton (including children) were not mentioned in the president’s address.

Alexander Visotzky writes about the opening of a monument in Astana, the new capital of Kazakhstan, where the authorities uncovered a 15-foot high bronze statue of incumbent president Nursultan Nazarbayev.

Dafydd reports that the EU has lifted the arms embargo on Uzbekistan. Reasons given are abolishment of the death penalty and release of political prisoners.